2014.01.26 - Big Trouble in Little Gotham
It is a cold and cloudless night in Gotham City. Saturday, and the streets are full of people out for a good time. At least, in other parts of the city - in the South, home of financial institutions and the looming, disapproving facade of Gotham Cathedral, the streets are almost eerily quiet. Why, from the ground level, it would almost look like nobody is here at all... The signs are there to those with eyes to see them, though. A flicker in the shadows, a 'security guard' slumped a little too heavily over his desk in one of the tall, dark buildings. What there isn't, is even a whisper of noise. It is if one looks atop the skyscrapers that the scale of the sudden, problem, can be seen. There's dozens of them - perhaps hundreds. Men and women clad in shrouds of inky blackness, and a point of brilliant red around which they cluster, run, jump. Leaping from skyscraper to skyscraper, defying gravity, sanity, and the laws of physics alike. She's led them on a merry chase, these ninja. Any one of them could be considered a dangerous opponent to a normal person; each armed with their own weapon of choice. Katana, swinging chains, daggers and nunchuku and countless variations... But amongst them, she dances. Twisting this way and that, a sharp, mobile rock around which the flow of seemingly endless opponents breaks. She's brought them here, to Gotham. The Hand, out in force to kill the traitor who turned against them. Elektra Natchios. And whilst she's yet to even start to tire, and the rooftops of the financial district are already starting to run red with blood... She is not invincible, and there are so many of them still to come, in endless, silent, deadly number. For at least one person hiding out within Gotham's limits, it's been a long day. Domino's had to play with a different set of rules when crossing over into this side of the city lately, ever since she turned her back on the Birds of Prey and ended up under Oracle's crosshairs. She doesn't use her own vehicles, she avoids the electronic eyes, and she stays clear of any form of public transportation. That doesn't leave her a lot of options. After sinking a freighter full of cargo containers in the Gotham harbor last night she's laid way, way low, dried out from a very brisk dive into the bay, then bided her time. It's about twenty-four hours later. Night has fallen, though while that tends to bring the Bats out it also tends to bring out the worst this borough has to offer. It's another roll of the dice but she's willing to take the chance. Besides, she's got several very large payments to catch up to for pulling yesterday's job(s). The albino travels relatively light, given her nature. (Only five guns this time!) There's no trench to keep anything hidden, though the suppressed rifle across her back wouldn't hide very well, regardless. Soon enough however, she's glad to have it handy. Things aren't right and well up here on the rooftops. "Oh, you have -got- to be kidding me," she sighs to herself. This isn't the sort of cover she had been hoping for. You know what else is in the financial district besides ninjas? A flying saucer. An invisible flying saucer. And a white-clad mutant occasionally called Fantomex stealing company secrets from the local Branch of the Brand Corporation. But Fantomex is inside the building, so it is EVA, floating outside, watching and hiding, that alerts him of the ninja army and the woman they are chasing. Of course, given a lady in danger, what is a French (not!) gentleman adventurer going to do? He will steal the documents tomorrow. To the roof! Lunair is in her armor, beneath a long, cloaklike winter coat with one of those cute little shoulder capes. Mercifully, her helmet has one of those folding visors that seals and she has a hood, so she just looks like a slightly overweight gal on a jog. She even had a weight loss flyer tucked into a pocket. For her part, she's practicing something akin to parkour but if a greased platypus were trying. She's clearly quite new to it. But then, things are quiet for even the most mafia laden district and her steps stop. She also has decided to generally play nicely in the city of the Bat™. Still... she makes her way up to a roof, unaware of Domino and even the incredibly French flying saucer as she climbs up a fire escape ladder and hops onto a roof. The Hand. To be honest, one Laura Kinney was /NOT/ looking for them. She was looking for something else. Someone else. But, things sort of set her off. For as the clawed cloned mutant entered this part of Gotham... As she realizes how quiet is is, she pauses, and sniffs the air. Maybe it's a scent. Maybe it's the lack of a scent. Maybe it's a sound. Maybe it's the lack of a sound. But for whatever the reason, it sets off warning bells with her, as she up and rushes towards a fire escape and starts to climb. AFter all, if this is what it might be, she should do something. After all, she does have an axe to grind with a certain group of ninjas... The Oracle isn't the only one with eyes on Gotham City. While the Birds and his onetime protege's prodigious efforts certainly direct the Bat, he has his own methods; particularly when hunting quarry familiar with working with the one, but not the other. Tonight, it's bats. Bats outfitted with microsensors transmitting audio and thermal imaging back in near real-time to the hardworking CPUs built into the hybridized APC and supercar that growls through the Gotham streets, already bringing Batman towards the escalating conflict. It's actually Domino that pings the bat's proverbial radar, first: he's deployed his little winged minions in zones he considered Oracle's least covered, yet close enough to the harbor to get to without being detected. Granted, for an operative of Domino's calibre: it's still a long list. Once one of the sensors picks up her signature, though, it's only moments before the image is processed into what it is: a sniper. This inevitably and nigh-immediately leads Batman to look outwards, at what she's preparing to shoot. Inside the cowl, Batman's eyes widen, and the turbine engine of the armored black supercar screams as afterburners are suddenly throttled way, way up; so far up that in a few moments, he'll shoot right -past- his initial quarry, on the street below her. It is like some terrible waking nightmare. A living hurricane, and as the ebb and flow of bodies is disturbed by more intruders - more witnesses who must be silenced - that nightmare chaos becomes even more apt. Domino's entrance is not missed. The woman's words are just a sigh, but in the pindrop silence of the tableau above, it is enough to cause heads to turn, to note the woman and her firearms. Thus fire, the silent slaughter has avoided raising any real awareness amongst the public; gunshots, however, tend to get noticed. Being noticed draws the authorities, and The Hand does not work well exposed to the light. They almost seem to move as one body, the three individuals who go for her. A young woman flings a handful of shuriken from the left, from the right, a man dashes forwards, hoping to use the distraction to slash a terrifyingly sharp katana through her midrift - or else push her towards the middle, where a huge man (who has no right moving that silently, or that fast) will try to grab her with his bare hands. Can they move faster than Domino's trigger finger? That, is the question. Fantomex's flight upwards is clear, at least, and so long as he is circumspect when opening the door, he can evade notice - for as luck would have it, Elektra herself is twisting past there at the very same moment. Garishly red against the dark backdrop of writhing, desperate bodies. She pirouettes away from a swung sword, and in the next moment, has broken the assailant's neck with her sai. Even as his body dissolves into darkness, another moves up to take his place - and so it goes, a beautiful dance of death. She may be in danger, but it would be difficult to say that Elektra is a damsel in distress - especially when he can catch a glimpse of her face. She looks almost... serene. A happy smile on her lips. Lunair is yet another unwanted variable, but she hardly looks like a major threat. A small woman breaks off from the main melee to intercept her in her unathletic romp. A razor-sharp knife embeds itself into the ground just inches in front of her - designed to make her stop, so that the next two can find their marks in her flank. The bodysuit-clad ninja has another three between her fingers, waiting, watching her new quarry. Of them all, it is Laura who gives The Hand pause. A tall man melts out of the darkness in front of her - apparently alerted to her flight up the fire escape somehow... but where others have been heedlessly attacked, the sight of the mutant gives him pause. The long katana he wields catches the moonlight brilliantly, and he takes two steps backwards, raising it between himself and the young woman in a defensive posture, eyes narrowing behind the mask... Beneath them, a supercar burns rubber on the street, but such things are expected - some playboy out testing his new toy, he'll surely be passed through soon enough, and if he has seen nothing, then he is no threat. Above them all, a dozen bats screech and flutter, silhouetted momentarily against the dazzling moon. Dom's new armor from Forge does a very good job of keeping her hidden from most forms of electronic surveillance, even if she's not fully willing to place absolute trust into it yet. Still, Oracle could see past it. The Bat Family as a whole has much better toys at their disposal than the run of the mill security cameras. This isn't some top secret government genetic research operation she's infiltrating, here. This is friggin' -Gotham.- The ironic thing is that she's not targeting anyone with that rifle right now. It played a role in her operation last night, she capped a crane operator with it. Now she's simply trying to escape with all of her gear. That, and one never knows when a thirty caliber sniper rifle might come in handy. Such as when running afoul of spectral ninja assassins. They're instantly her primary concern. She's willing to bet that they haven't forgotten about her, either. The thought doesn't have long to simmer when there's the screaming of a turbine engine sailing down the otherwise quiet street below, prompting a choice word to slip out even as three of the ninja come rushing toward her position. This..is bad. Shuriken are hard targets to track even in broad daylight. They snag the merc's forearm as she focuses on the man with the sword, wrenching a single ten millimeter pistol free as she spins about, narrowly missing the edge of the honed blade. She makes a grab for the hilt, shuriken still lodged into her armor, while aiming to clock the back of the swordman's head with the butt of her pistol. The bigger guy's either going to have an arm full of throwing stars swung around at him, or that arm -and- a stolen sword. It'll drive the points further into her own arm if they hit, but a weapon is a weapon! She with the shuriken is last, and Dom's target of choice for going loud. Ranged attack for ranged, she just gets to wait her turn. The quietness of the night is suddenly broken when the metal door that gives access to the roof is kicked open. Since EVA is watching, Fantomex already knows how many and where they are. He comes guns blazing, blamblamblamblam. Those are some high caliber shots that hit the ninja warriors around Elektra with alarming accuracy. The darkness of a normal night is no hindrance for the mutant thief. "Sacre bleu," he says to Elektra, "so many genin for a single target. You must have annoyed someone with deep pockets." Run, run, run - KNIFE! Lunair tries to stop and ends up skidding past. "Mother truckin' frost-!" And she was wearing her armored shoes. Craaaaaaap. She slides right past it, almost looking like she's flailing or thrusting her way to greatness. But the comedy is lost as more follow it. And soon the secret that Lunair is wearing body armor is out as one of the knives pings off her side. The funny is dropped, as her eyes narrow and she looks a little more predatory. Her hood is revealed as concealing a helmet as the visor closes. Well then. Guess she's armored, not - penguiny-figured. Either way, she pulls a rifle out of freaking nowhere and turns, trying to spot whomever threw those knives at her. "Let's play~" That's more than a little malevolent. There is no pause. No hesitation. No thought. Instead, as Laura catches the sight of the guy in front of her as he steps out of the shadows, there's a... *SNIKT!* As her claws come out. After all, the last time the clawed 'clone' may have encountered The Hand was roughly a year ago (and was the first time she met Logan face to face), and she had backup, but she /knows/ what The Hand can do. Thus the claws are swung. The left one towards the sword, in an arc that is meant to hopefully slice the katana in half. But her right claw...? That comes second, in a swing towards the throat and neck?!? Yes. She goes for the 'kill' right off the bat, despite her promise not to do so anymore. She'll deal with it later. The guilt later. After all, if these guys are anything like The Hand ninjas she fought before, they'll dust rather than be caught anyways. And yes, aside from the sound of the claws popping, the mutant girl does not speak, nor does she try to make any noise at all. The Batman's fingers tap out codes and commands in practiced, intuitive sequence into the batmobile as he conducts his jet-powered tank drag race down that last stretch of road, the final series of commands opening the vehicle's canopy and triggering an ejection sequence that launches the Dark Knight clear of the car in the blink of an eye, upwards amidst the canyon of familiar, Gotham glass and steel. Long before his momentum can expire, a grapple line is fired outwards and upwards, snagging the upper ledge of an adjacent building and propelling the Caped Crusader upwards perhaps faster still. Below, the batmobile skids to its programmed halt, sidelong and blocking the nearest intersection nearly entirely. It flares rather intense LEDs outwards in all directions and seemingly random sequence as armored plating deploys around the vehicle's hull. A rather unique siren periodically blares. The bat-signals and sound are likely to attract ninja to be concerned about the car anyway: when and if that happens, the batmobile would begin aggressively tazing them and blinding any who take the wrong approach with spot and headlights. Above, Batman joins the fray in earnest, announced by little more than the rush of wind and the retracting grapple line; oh, and the sharp, miniature batarangs in swarms small and biting that hurtle for crippling points on this Hand assasin or that. The Caped Crusader joins the intricate dance in a sudden ambush of fists and knees amidst the chaotic aftermath of Elektra's (apparent) reinforcements. The surreal thing is how quiet the ninja are. Even as the large man fighting Domino has three shuriken driven into his stomach by the woman - not a fatal blow but one which would make any normal person cry out in agony - there's only a faint hiss and a grinding of teeth. The blades dig in deep, but one meaty fist raises upwards, intending to stave in the 'lucky' mercenary's skull with one powerful blow. She has the sword, though, and the swordsman stumbles after the blow to the back of his head, momentarily caught off guard-- And then there's gunfire. The ninja are unarmored, and high velocity lead has all the impact it would have against most mortal flesh. Domino's target hits the rooftop, dispersing into whisps of willowy black vapor. Fantomex's targets fare little better, and the gap around Elektra is momentarily widened by the ringing shots. Elektra shares a look with the masked man for just a moment the slightest nod of her head- and her eyes flicker over the gun. Her smile falters, and then the dance is back on. Elektra dashes into the crowd, and as she forces them back - more smoke filling the night, more death splattered across the rooftops - a blade catches across her arm, drawing a thin line of blood. Blood which flows rapidly, coiling down her arm. There's that smile again, wider than before, as she takes the blade and feeds it to the man who struck her. The Hand are less focused now - attention split in so many directions, The Beast has trouble directing them. A man with a chain hooked and viciously barbed throws it towards Fantomex. Another throws a canister - and the stairwell is full of choking black smoke, a distraction, perhaps, to try and blind the man with the deadly aim. On the stairwell, enchanted and ancient metal meets ungodly sharp claws. Laura has the disadvantage that she is attacking higher ground, and for a moment, the Hand ninja looks smug. There's a ring as their weapons clash, and as hers slowly starts to cut through the enchanted metal, he pushes back- relying on greater weight and positioning to unbalance her... but he hadn't expected the killing blow. The look of faint surprise that passes over his features lasts only a few seconds before he, too, is shadow and memory, to be replayed in the young mutant's nightmares. Lunair's opponent's lips press together when her knife proves ineffective, but she is as tenacious as the rest. Another is flung, one aiming where the other had struck - a distraction, to disorient her as the ninja melts into shadow and reappears directly in front of the girl. Lunair can produce weapons from nowhere - but now it seems that every shadow might hide an enemy, and this time, the knife is driven with her hand, hoping that surprise and panic will buy an opening at the throat. Below the dizzying heights, a group of ninja do descend to try and silence the car; but it doesn't take long for them to be lit up, and understanding ripples through the swarm of ninja at the same time as Batman makes his arrival in their midst. Despite appearances, The Hand are not inexhaustible, and as another point of contact is made in the ever-widening circle of individuals fighting against their forces, tactics shift from all-out offense, to a more defensive and conservative approach... there's still so many of them! But, less and less by the moment. "Sorry I'm late," Nightwing says into the helmet communicator as his gloved right hand opens the throttle on the cycle. The street lighting and neon of store signs illuminate the faceplate mask of the blue-black helmet and begin to fade across the shiny head covering as he picks up speed. "I'll be there in a moment." The cycle roars down the Gotham streets, pulling closer and closer to the unfolding mayhem. Seeing the Batmobile in the distance, Nightwing's right hand reaches upward as he fires his jumpline gun up into the air. A split second later, the young hero is ripped upwards from the bike and into the night sky. The bike, meanwhile, takes an abrupt right turn and moves down and away from the fight as if it still had a driver. One thing Domino didn't think about, those shuriken also getting caught in the -big guy.- Before the weapons get pulled free of her armor she gets twisted off balance by the brute, nearly throwing her to the ground. The upside is that his punch is likely going to hit the assassin which formerly held the katana instead of her. With all but one of the metal stars popping free she comes back around and up with the sword, the blade's path set to cleave up through the brute's hip straight up to the opposite shoulder. The blaring of the Batmobile is distracting even on the rooftops, which also serves as another warning for Dom to file away into the queue. Ninjas first, close-up then further out. They're a lot more likely to kill her than any of the Bats are! With the first break in the immediate skirmish she can find she's going to flip back away from the brute and swordsman and go for a few more kill shots. Noisy, yes, but ninja are not the sort of thing one wants to get face to face with. Distance helps! Only once she can finish those other two off can she try to focus on the incoming Bat. By then it might be too late, he's had time to close the distance and he knows exactly where she's at. Blamblamblam... thre is no clickckilckick when the guns run out of bullets because Fantomex was counting the shots. The magazines are empty at the most inconvenient moment of the ninja counterattack. There is a hook coming at him, but he moves forward and jumps over it and over the ninja too. It is not the kind of jump a normal human could do, too high and too fast, and all while he reholsters one of the guns and reloads the other with quick and precise motions. "Smoke grenades? How trite. We French ninjas can hear your heartbeats three blocks away. And we also can see through walls made of lead." Yes, today he claims to be a ninja. Reinventing himself every night, that's him. By the time his feet touch the roof again, that weird white ceramic handgun is reloaded, and two quick shots dispatch both chain-wielder and canister-throwing ninjas. Right. Lunair does not want to go toe to toe with ninja. She'd get her head kicked off, and she's not about to get her head kicked off after evading Snake Lady's head kicking. No, thank you, Miss Ninja. Lunair politely refuses. "Eh?" There's another knife in the same spot. Something is wrong. Lunair may have a more feral, fool's style of fighting, but she is far from stupid. Something seems amiss and she listens to -- yup, there's a ninja in her face. And there's batsirens and - something is seriously going on down there. But there's no time to look, even if Lunair's pretty okay with Batpeeps (except the ones who kick her). She lifts her non-rifle having hand over her face and maybe, maybe throat - but it's going to be close and tries to push herself backwards. A single shot rings out in a desperate attempt to avoid a wound. But she's not going to be sure for a moment. The noise... The scents... It doesn't matter to Laura that there are others fighting. It does not matter that there are guns here, even if they are being fired by someone with a familiar and friendly(?) scent. It'd possibly be two scents, but a certain someone of course doesn't have one. Not one that Laura remembers being able to pick up last time she encountered a certain someone and their flying saucer. And while the loud noise and bright lights of the Batmobile may be hard to ignore, the clawed 'clone' tries her best not to be distracted by them. And being on a fire escape does help with that, but not much. Especially considering her heightened senses. Thus, the mutant girl just tries to continue to fight, she also fights to keep herself under control. To not outwardly show any sign of how the noises and lights may be distracting her, or worse. Thus she tries to charge upwards, farther and faster, getting away from the source of the issue, and in theory towards the ninjas. And any that get in her way? They better be less hesitant, because unless they want to end up like the guy she just dusted, she will not hold back. "I didn't realize that was typical of the French." The Dark Knight observes, with dryness not out of place in the midst of the Sahara, as he also effortlessly pursues the Hand into their own smokescreen. Once he's certain of the nature of his foes, Batman cuts loose: it's a rare sight to see, the way he freely applies the techniques of the League he trained with, the lessons of assassins on par with Elektra, rather than her pursuers. He aims to snap bone, to crush throats, grappling weapons against swordbreakers on his armored gauntlets, or tucking them away in exchange for flesh wounds and damage against his own armored sneaksuit. Overcharged electrified bola seek to lighten Elektra's load, tossed one then another as the Bat changes targets, pursuing the Beast's ninja hordelings in seemingly chaotic turn. The Bat might ask what they want; what this is all about. If it weren't painfully obvious to the Caped Crusader as the splashes of blood hidden beneath his armor. Things are not going well for the ninja. The brute is opened from hip to shoulder by Domino's acrobatic evasion, and as he keels over backwards, the remaining shots down his ally. It might just be blind luck that Domino is left momentarily unhindered after putting down her three assailants - but then, where Domino is concerned, is luck ever truly blind? Fantomex's shots ring true, even if his quips land on unhearing ears. Hand ninja are not renowned for their intellects, and that seems to hold true here as well as anywhere else. Of course, he's still close to Elektra, and now that the woman in red has been injured, the remaining ninja can scent weakness. They've lost a lot of people, yes, but if they can claim Elektra's head tonight, then losing every single man and woman here would be an acceptable loss. His speed is remarkable, and it helps to keep the crowd away from Elektra, having to deal with him as well - as he reloads, three men close to engage at closer quarters, hoping to use mastery of the martial arts to counteract the advantage his guns give. One leaps up, aiming a flying kick, the other two prepared to deliver a barrage of ferocious punches when he lands. Elektra herself does not have time to enjoy the luxury of pain. Her bleeding arm is held limp at her side, and her right twirls a sai. Still, they come. Twins, these two, they compliment each other well, and when they hit the asphalt of the street below, they will no doubt enter whatever hell awaits them just as skillfully. Two more assailants try to hold Laura back from the roof; the first a woman descending from above with a weighted ball, which proves little match for the mutant's keen blade. The second is a wiry man whose mastery of unarmed combat helps him last a couple of seconds against her ferocity, but in the end, The Hand is too dispersed and too disparate to keep her from the carnage above. Where they are focused, where they can apply that pressure, there is little that The Hand can not crush... but with so many forces demanding their attention, it is increasingly difficult for them to grasp any foe without them slipping through their fingers. A fact that is aptly demonstrated by Lunair, whose wild shot somehow finds its mark, only a small cut across her hand a gift for her troubles. The knife-wielding woman sinks to her knees, one hand over the hole in her belly, and then she, too, quietly expires. The heart of the storm that is the ninja horde seems to be faltering, concentrating around the trio of Batman, Fantomex, and Elektra herself. When the injured Assassin spies the Bat, she makes way towards him. The woman's smile seems fixed, a blood-red grin which doesn't quite touch her eyes. By now, reports of gunfire on rooftops and the manic screeching of the Batmobile can't help but have scrambled some of Gotham's finest. It'll be a few minutes yet before the helicopters arrive, before the more ... complete cordon than the one the batmobile provides will be put into place - but sirens are evident, and for some, heightened ears, the beat of blades of a different kind against the horizon. From the shadows, Batman's former protege leaps out towards the fray with the light flickering off a pair of dancing escrima sticks. Nightwing works quickly, lashing out in a feverish, but controlled frenzy, bringing the sticks downwards with swiftness in an attempt to use surprise to his advantage. By the time he lands fully he gets low and sweeps his leg low, trying to take out or slow down the ninjas in front of them. "Didn't know you were having a party," he says quietly towards Batman. "I'd have brought chips." The other people here are not Domino's concern. She's pulled through the initial skirmish with minor injuries (and got herself a wicked new sword to boot!) Batman's caught up doing his 'I am the Night' butt-kicking stuff. It's a rare window of opportunity where no one's paying her any attention, which is absolutely perfect timing given that she can hear the sounds of incoming sirens. She doesn't need an illuminated sign telling her that it's time to go. Maybe this will all work out to her advantage, after all..! Now she knows exactly what part of the city to avoid, those cowled vigilante sorts are going to be tangled up in this mess for a while. Sidearm holstered, Dom gets a running start then leaps right off the edge of the building. Taking a page out of Spider-Man's book, she fires the same forearm-mounted grappel that got her onto the freighter last night to snag one of the rooftop gargoyle statues, the cable snapping taut and sweeping her right down the (thankfully empty) street. With another twist and a slice of the katana (fancy having that ready to go in her hand,) she severs the cable with the briefest of sparks, allowing her to safely tumble back down to street level. All that's left to do? Run. And maybe sheath the sword. "We keep our secrets well, we French ninja masters," replies Fantomex seamlessly and shamelessly. He has a French accent Batman can probably immediately identify as deliberately fake. But hey, at least someone is listening to his quips. The ninjas that thought it was a good idea to go into close combat with him are going to be somewhat disappointed. Fantomex can 'read' their intentions easily, he is very quick and simply ducks under the flying kick while kicking himself the knee of the second ninja, shattering it. The third ninja can be glad for a second, he just stabbed Fantomex in the face. Except no, he stabbed the face of the jumping ninja as he landed. How could he make that mistake? The misdirected ninja can ponder it in his way to the street as Fantomex simply pushes him over the edge of the roof, which also was far closer the ninja though it was. Now Fantomex has a clear line of sight to shoot, but EVA is telling him there are three more women being attacked by ninjas. He just has to look down, because what are the odds? He recognizes Laura, Lunair (know to him as 'Gun Girl') and Domino. Maybe she can tell him the odds. He starts shooting again, this time to Laura's ninjas. Ow! Lunair hisses softly for a moment, unhappy about getting cut. Although, she is happy it wasn't her throat. And also that she's not on the receiving end of Bat Wrath. But she pauses, as the woman sinks to her knees and expires, like that. For a moment, she almost feels something resembling a quiet sadness. Like slaying an enemy you took forever to hunt down. It feels a bit anticlimatic in a way. How easily life slips away. And indeed, it's a quiet reminder that one day, someone will too probably put a bullet into the back of her head. Then it's good bye. She shakes it off, then. And was that a french UFO guy? Lunair seems confused, but decides to make in the direction of 'away', lest she get underfoot and cause troubles. Back to the ladder! Those two may be dealt with, but they slow Laura down some, even as Fantomex helps by shooting one of them. That unarmed ninja slows her down more so than the other, especially as he appears to break a bone in her arm, prompting her to slow down enough to try to 'set' the bone with one quick motion. But odds are, even with it set, even with her healing factor, it hurts like hell. It probably slows her down enough that other ninjas may even get a good stab or two with bladed weapons, or hit her with throwing stars. But she still continues to fight. She's fast and furious. She attacks and moves with almost machine like accuracy, showing that she has skill and then some in close combat, but with and without her claws. She just keeps pushing up, and ahead, towards the 'heart' of the storm. And when she reaches the rooftop... As she notices the horde attacking that trio, she tries to help as well, as she tries to deal with the 'edge' of that storm closest to her, attacking any and every Hand ninja she can that is close to her, hopefully at the same time pulling some of them away from the others. Of course as Dick arrives, and then well... On top of that she gets a brief glimpse of Fantomex.... Her movements up and become /faster/. Heck, her composure falters some, and she looks... Angry as she fights. Slashing. Clawing. Kicking. Her movements are still precise. But now... Now she's become a full on killing machine, who'se goal is to take out as many of these ninja as she can. "You'd have been even later." The Dark Knight deadpans as Nightwing arrives, though it's difficult to carry on a conversation with katana and naginata trying to bisect one's being. Two deft disarms lead into uselessly bent or broken weapons, then ninja: the sudden defenestration spree is inverted as the bat aggressively incapacitates one of the disarmed assassins against the resilient side of the rooftop maintenance door, using size and surprising strength to his advantage. That proverbial heart of the storm may have drawn the primary counterattack, but it seems this has transformed it into the eye of the Beast's hurricane. "At least two more bystanders caught up in the fight, holding their own; and Domino." The last name is spoken with a bit more intensity. Somehow, this -must- be her fault. After all, he was only looking for the merc. Overhead, satellites and drones do their best to track her motion, hidden within the shifting night clouds blowing over Gotham. The Dark Knight shifts stance in the lull between clashes, all his deadly implements (including his fists) suddenly shrouded in that long, scalloped cape that covers him shoulder to booted heel. His posture all but unreadable as he surveys the chaos where it continues, it's impossible to say if Gotham's guardian suspects Elektra in that moment.. and no one saved a lifeline to call Batgirl. Perhaps, in its way, just encountering these ninja was the stroke of luck that Domino needed to get away - it certainly seems to have provided adequate distraction from the Bat and his allies! The Beast's magical influence is working against the technological means to survey the area - meant to help protect his agents as much as possible, random bursts of static interlaced with terrifying, fanged faces might just help to cloak her escape as well - or perhaps it won't. The Beast's influence is limited, especially in the technological age. Lunair, too, is not stopped in her quest to get away - the forces have been whittled down enough that trying to keep their grip on the enemies at the edges is becoming... impractical. Three becomes five, and an army of ninja becomes a squad. Dick downs two, Fantomex guns down the men who try to keep Laura back, and, with him keeping the path relatively clear for her, she hits the ninja like a wheat thresher. As her control slips, limbs and blood fly this way and that, and-- there's finally a noise from Elektra, when she catches a glimpse of the murderous mutant assassin. A cheerful, wild laugh, unrestrained as she turns a graceful arc on the ball of her foot... Her right arm catches a murderous lunge, the sai there neatly turning away a sword blow... and using the body of the disoriented assailant as a cover, her injured arm flashes out, flinging the other sai with fatal intent - aiming not for one of the ninja, but directly for Batman's center mass. When the man she had been using as cover falls to the ground, whether her sai has connected or not, the crimson-clad woman is standing on the edge of the roof directly behind Batman. The Hand are starting to flee in earnest; no longer wanting to face the slashing claws, deadly gunfire, and bone-crunching force arrayed against them... and police spotlights begin to illuminate the rooftop, silhouetting the bloodstained Elektra as the most stable point in the swirling melee - though with their cover blown, the other ninja show the usual aversion to light. From his position down on the floor, Nightwing sees Elektra make her move. As she reaches to fling her sai, he's reaching into his gauntlet. As the metal piece of death flies through the air, Nightwing's device also hurtles. It's black, and cylindrical, and there's a soft pop as it explodes and sends a heavy netting up into the space between Elektra and Batman. It certainly won't stop the sai, but it will blunt its hit if successful, and hopefully knock it off course and slow it down to boot. Not to mention give the Dark Knight a split second extra. That magical 'fog' ought to help, up until Domino's outside its area of influence. How far would it reach..? Far enough to cover her retreat back to Manhattan? Probably not. She's already been tagged once, and she's got the sort of face that stands out easily. Just identify her by the spot. Brand awareness. All the same, she hesitates at the opening of an alley just long enough to visually cover her six. Nothing on the horizontal plane. Nothing coming in from above. Clear? Wicked. "Well, that was uncomfortably close." How far of a walk is it back to Manhattan, again..? Ah, hell. Gotta really press the advantage while she's got it. Fantomex frowns when Laura jumps into the fray to stab ninjas. "You shouldn't be here," he remarks mildly. A brief glance reveals both Domino and Lunair are leaving the area. So EVA is dispatched to retrieve Lunair, in the case she wants another free ride, and because he is curious what was she doing here. And back to ninja-killing. Or not, since they seem to be leaving quickly. Well, except for the one ninja that just tried to kill Batman. "Ah, the twist in this story. There had to be one." Bonus: he is not the one that could be skewered this time. Lunair wasn't expecting ninja. Not really. But then, there's an EVA! And really, would they be good ninja if you expected them? Perhaps if you order from Ninja Burger (to go) or Ninja Pizza, maybe. But Lunair does her best not to irritate too many ninja. She doesn't want more enemies than she needs. She pauses, at EVA. "Hi! Um, sure, thank you." Wow, is that a Batman over there? Neat! "Thank you!" Laura's back is turned to Batman as that sai goes flying, busy finishing off the ninjas she's dealing with, even if it is only for a moment or two. But a moment or two is all it takes. For as her most recent opponent turns to dust, and she turns, it's too late. And yet as The Hand flee, and Sirens can be heard, she starts to turn to run herself, but as she notices that sai go flying, her eyes go wide... Before she turns, and faces Elektra... But what, if anything she does next probably depends on what, if anything that Sai does. It's hard to explain the instincts of a honed killer. That innate sense of predator and prey that dictates whether one even survives training; much less ascend to the mastery exhibited by both assassin and intended quarry, in this instant. In the instant Elektra feints, as that killing blow whips through the air, even before Nightwing's intercession, the Dark Knight slips his own booted foot back, his profile all but merging with the shadows cast across the windy rooftops that whip his cape forward, further obscuring his form. That net grenade serves to turn what would be a precarious, life or death parry into an almost rote gesture, catching the off-kilter projectile in a perfectly time wave of that conveniently placed, iconic cape. The sharpened point digs into the cloth, but it's far from cotton: reinforced layers of high-tech armored fabric sweep the strike aside before it can pierce its target, and in the half-second that follows? The Bat's other hand whips out, launching two small, spherical, matte gunmetal pellets drawn with masterful sleight of hand from one his utility belt pouches as he waits. In proximity of, rather than in contact with Elektra Natchios, those microgrenades would explode in a brilliant, retina-scorching supernova of light and sound. In their wake, the Dark Knight stalks forward, straight as his attacker, as if neither the flash nor the bang even reached him. Elektra's smile doesn't so much as flicker, even as Dick neatly turns her elegant attack into so much wasted effort. Her eye meets Laura's for but a moment, and she-- winks? But when Batman's cape comes up, it is at that point Elektra springs from the rooftop. Not leaping towards The Bat, but instead throwing herself into the air off the skyscraper. For a few instants, Elektra's outline is barely visible against the solid, blinding nova that Batman's retaliation provides. The thunderous noise is like the bellow of an angry god; but just like The Beast, such noise is full of sound and fury, ando signifies nothing in the last. It is only when the last echoes of it fade away that there's a hint, carried on a soft gust of wind, of mocking, amused laughter... And then of Elektra, there is nothing left at all. "Ninjas are so tricky," comments Fantomex. Currently half-blind because of Batman. Ack. Fortunately he has this healing factor. "We should go to, Gotham's best will be here in a minute." So he grabs Laura's arm and jumps off the side of the building. Landing on EVA about 20 feet down. The flying saucer has her own "Somebody Else's Problem field" and will keep them hidden from almost anyone. Fantomex is not completely sure if it is Bat-proof, so he directs the technorganic spaceship to get out of there at top speed (subsonic until they are some distance from glassy buildings, though). "What were you doing in Gotham, anyway?" This is directed to the girls, either or both. Mercifully, Lunair's visor and stuff protect her from Batbang- er, batflash - flash bangs. There's no real good way to say that. None what so ever. But yes, Lunair is flash bang proof. Also flash dance, flash mob proof. "Thanks. And yeah, they are," Lunair agrees quietly. She does seem glad enough to be in a flying saucer and not getting ninja stabbed/injured. "Me? I was training. Free running and stuff is hard. Also, I could probably in better shape," She admits sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. Politely, she leaves out the whole 'the bounty on mobsters and gangsters is also a nice perk'. As she looks at Elektra, it looks /almost/ like Laura is about to do something, but then... Then Batman does what he does. And X-23's heightened senses are overloaded before she has much of a chance to do anything else. Fortunately Fantomex grabs her, and yanks her onto EVA as he gets away. And yet as she collects herself, and is asked that question, the female clone.... Doesn't respond. At all. Instead, she takes a seat, and remains silent. First the ninja vanishes from view, and none of the cowl's instruments pick her up in the night below... and then the others make off in the other direction, Flight of the Navigator style. This sequence of events inspires one of Batman's least used phrases. "That's new." It's not particularly amused, spoken as an aside to his skilled ward, before the Dark Knight steps back from the building ledge and taps a button on his gauntlet. The batmobile immediately stops its vigil and retracts the extra armor around wheels and hull via customized hydraulics. "Try to find out who hired Elektra Natchios to kill me." Batman asides to Dick more quietly. "I'm going to go have a talk with Domino. While she's in town." He barely waits for Nightwing's response before dropping into freefall towards the streets below, using that velocity and a timely grapple line to all but drop him right back into the batmobile's cockpit, directly. Category:Log